Proprietors of designated rooming houses, ie those operating a residential premises as a business with 5 or more rooms to rent, must be registered with Consumer and Business Services or significant penalties apply.
If you run a rooming house with 2 to 4 rooms to rent, it's not categorised as a designated rooming house and you don't need to be registered, however other rooming house laws still apply.
The Commissioner for Consumer and Business Affairs must be satisfied that a proprietor of a designated rooming house:
- is a fit and proper person to be registered
- has appropriate qualifications and experience
- pays the application, registration and annual return fees (unless exempt).
Register or update your registration
You'll need to meet certain requirements and provide supporting documents (a photo of a document taken with a smartphone or tablet is acceptable) to register or update your existing registration.
The two-part application below requires:
- online smart form completion
- a short online training course explaining some of your responsibilities, with multiple choice of answers
- a National Police Certificate (no older than 12 months)
- online payment (unless exempt).
Community housing providers and registered ACNC charities still need to apply for registration and provide their current registration number, despite being exempt from paying the prescribed fees.
Allow 20-30 minutes to complete the registration.
Who should register
Registration can be issued to:
- body corporates - eg companies
- individuals
- partnerships - all partners must be individually registered.
You still need to be registered as a designated rooming house proprietor if you engage a land agent to manage the rooming house for you.
If your registration has been cancelled, you'll need to apply again.
What you'll need
Knowledge
Review the updated Rooming house proprietors’ guide (350KB PDF) to be aware of your rights and responsibilities.
As part of your online application form you will also need to successfully complete an online training course.
Police clearance
Include with your application a copy of your National Police Certificate (NPC) no more than 12 months old.
Apply for a NPC through:
- South Australia Police
- National police checking service - Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission
You don't need a NPC if you:
- are director of a company listed on the Australian Stock Exchange
- have lodged an NPC with CBS within the last year
Fees
| Application fee for registration as a designated rooming house proprietor | $377.00 |
| Registration fee (payable on grant of registration) | $248.00 |
| Annual return fee for designated rooming house proprietor | $248.00 |
Fee exemptions apply for registered community housing providers and charities with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profit Commission (ACNC).
Changes that affect your registration
Notify CBS within 14 days if you've committed an offence, or have had legal restrictions placed on your work or business.
You'll also need to advise CBS when you:
- change your address, the address of a designated rooming house related to your business or the address of your body corporate
- change name, business name or trading name
- change business structure, change directors in your company or business partners (related to the designated rooming house)
- surrender your registration.
Other websites
Check registration processing times - CBS website
